Meigs Rhea County Tennessee 1887 Goodspeed History Biographies Dayton Decatur

Description

Where Bryan and Darrow met in the famous Scopes Trial!
Meigs & Rhea Counties, Tennessee
New
58 Page
Booklet
Early days in
Meigs County and Rhea County, on the banks of the Tennessee River,
are recalled in this spiral bound booklet compiled from excerpts from the 1886 book:
History of Tennessee
, originally published by Goodspeed Publishing Co., and other sources. The 58-page booklet is printed on quality paper with the print enlarged for easier reading. A vinyl sheet has been added to protect the front cover.
The county seats are: Decatur in Meigs County and Dayton in Rhea County. Dayton is where John Scopes was tried for teaching evolution.
The first part of the booklet concerns the history of:
Meigs County
--Geography and geology; Earliest Settlers -- Elisha Sharp, Stephen Winton, John McCallam, the Edgman family, A. Boygess, Jacob and Luke Peak, Caleb Moore, William Ware, J. Chapman, Thomas Baker, Hiram Gibson, the Stewart family, James Lillard, Leonard Brooks, William Rogers, Samuel McDaniel, Abraham Cox, the Kelly family, Jesse Martin, Joseph Cowan, the Howsers, Howell Whitmore, John Womack, T.J. Matthews, and others; Early businesses; Organization of the county; Decatur, the county seat; Early officials, church, academy, lawyers, etc.; and
Rhea County
-- Geography; Organization of the county; Early Courts; the difficulties in locating a county seat; Early officials and attorneys; early jails; the first settlers and early businesses in Washington -- Billy Washington, John Birdsong, William Leuty, Isaac McMeans, etc; Dayton (formerly Smith's Cross Roads) and its early settlers, and other bits of history.
Besides the names mentioned in the first part of the booklet, there are biographies of many county residents of yesteryear. Most are fairly lengthy, and often include ancestors, previous residences, children, in-laws, affiliations, war records, and business activities. In the course of this they often shed light on the early businesses, professions and institutions in the county. The biographies include:
Meigs County
--
David M. Blevins, Elisha S. Boggess, Dr. Samuel J. Breeden, W.D. Browder Sr., William B. Brown, T.W. Burke, Robert E. Cate, Dr. M.C. Clark, Elijah M. Ewing, Arthur C. Ewing, Jonas Fooshee, James H. Fuller, Capt. Robert L. Gamble, William C. Godsey, Benjamin F. Grigsby, William M. Hale, Martin A. Hardin, Dr. A.W. Hodge, James M. Hornsby, Samuel Hutsell, W. H. King, Col. Newton J. Lillard, Capt. James R. Moore, John P. Moulton, Jasper N. Moulton, W.C. Peak, T.J. Peak, Thomas J. Robinson, and Mathew B. Stewart;
Rhea County
-- Dr. J.C. Abernathy, Major William G. Allen, Valentine C. Allen, Nicholas Q. Allen, John W. Angel, William B. Benson, Dr. Alfred C. Blevins, William F. Blevins, Polk Brown, Sanders D. Broyles, Jonathan M. Caldwell, James P. Collins, Thomas N.L. Cunnynham, Robert C.M. Cunnyngham, Capt. William P. Darwin, Major George C. Dodge, Abner W. Frazier, Creed M. Fulton, W.C. Gardenhire, Col. William T. Gass, Robert N. Gillespie, Webb M. Thomas, Charles F. Gilmore, Andrew P. Haggard, Hugh B. Heiskell, J.C. Hinch, Irby W. Holt, John M. Howard, Capt. James Howe, James Johnson, Christopher Jones, Arch McCaleb, Rowland F. McDonald, Lewis F. McDonald, George C. McKenzie, D.C. McMillin Sr., Col. John Randolph Neal, Major Flavius J. Paine, John E. Pyott, B.F. Robinson, David F. Robinson, Jesse P. Roddy, William G. Roddy, George M.D. Spence, Halliday Spivey, William E. Stephens, Dr. James H. Storie, Dr. James G. Thomison, and Dr. J.C. Wasson.
Brief excerpts from
Counties of Tennessee
by Austin P. Foster, and
Tennessee, a Guide to the State
, compiled and written by the Federal Writer's Project of the WPA in 1939, are included. Tour stops include Rhea Springs, Dayton, Hiwassee Island, Sale Creek, and Soddy. Going beyond most tour books, the WPA portion offers historical trivia, such as Sam Houston's boyhood home with the Indians and the "evolution trial" of John T. Scopes which took place in Dayton. For clarification, we've added a little background information on William Jennings Bryan and Clarence Darrow, principals in the trial, and on Tennessee's anti-evolution law. (The 1960 movie "Inherit the Wind" with Spencer Tracy and Frederick March was based on this incident.)
Wouldn't this make a unique gift?
Additional copies available for listing upon request.